Sometimes while I’m perusing Thai menus I play a secret game in my head: If I had a band and I had to name the band after one dish on the menu, which dish would I choose? (Yep, my life is a non-stop party. But I digress…) Yesterday, I picked up the menu from Long Beach Thai Cuisine and spotted several contenders right off the bat. #26: Crying Tiger. Not too shabby. Maybe an Emo band. #37: Family Fried Rice. Better. I like that it could imply that a family has actually fried rice or that a family has been fried into rice as an ingredient. Very Dahmer. Maybe if it was a punk band. I put it on the back burner, so to speak. #81: Hot Superb Tofu. This might be the one. It has just the right blend of catchiness and hipness, while also being totally bizarre. And now I’m hungry. Just how superb is this tofu?

And then I turned the menu over, revealing the house specialties. The specialties have no numbers and cost a bit more. For $10 one can obtain “boneless skinless chicken breast smothered in yellow curry and vegetables.” The name? “Nirvana”! (Gasp!) Could it be that I’m not the only one who plays this “secret” game?!